Apologies for the "long time no blogging....." But I'm back now!

I could not resist blogging about what one of my customers is doing with the kimono fabrics she gets from us. Ann is a Bundle of the Month Club member who create all kinds of crowns (yes, crowns) and the ones she makes from kimono fabrics are goreous. Take a look.... and see more of her creations on her website, www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com. My favorite is the second one, where she uses a shibori pattern. But for the fourth one she uses haori lining fabric, which also turns out so well! Drop her a line with a comment if you like, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you.











I think I will do several posts of the amazing items that my customers create using kimono fabrics. So stay tuned!

Nancy

Have you always wanted to visit Japan but haven't found anyone to go with you? Join our group! I have two slots open for our May 2009 trip to Kyoto and want to fill them asap. Every year I take a group of kimono lovers (mostly woman, but not always) for eleven days (ten nights) in Kyoto from May 19-29th. We spend two days at two different temple markets (where you can buy all the kimonos your little suitcase can hold!), we take three workshops on textiles (dying, weaving, etc.), and we do some sight-seeing too. I lived in Kyoto for three years and love sharing some my favorite off-the-beaten-path places.

It's not a high end trip and it's not for everyone - there's a lot of walking, some floor-sitting, a fair amount of tofu(!), but never a dull moment! You'd have three free days to wander on your own and we'll help with arrangements for those days as well as reservations and information if you decide to stay a few days longer. There are a lot of photos and details on my website (www.kyotokimono.com)from previous trips to give you a better idea of the fun, but here are a few photos from last year to start you off:

At one of our delicious meals!


Last year we had a special treat - an evening with two maiko!


At our wax resist (roketsuzome)workshops:


And of course....the markets!


Yes, I have two slots left (there will be a total of six of us) and I'd like to get them filled asap. Payment terms are flexible. $2900 covers just about everything except airfare and what you decide to do on your three free days.

As you may know, "furi" means "long" and "sode" (pronounced so-day, since all of the syllables in Japanese are pronounced)means sleeve, so furisode literally means long-sleeved kimono. But a furisode itself says so much more!

Reserved for young unmarried women, this style of kimono is always elegant and has an air of allure and promise. These days, you'll still find young women wearing these on Adult's Day (also called Coming of Age Day, January 9th.) I have heard that the sleeves are sometimes ereferred to as "butterfly sleeves", which can be waved slowly, like a butterfly might do to attract a mate. As with any kimono, one can discern so much about the wearer and the event by the color, patterning and imagery in the design. Cranes or treasure cart wheels suggest the kimono was created for a wedding reception. Overall florals could be any season, butterflies are more often seen in summer, and bamboo and plum blossoms suggest the coming of spring.

Color may indicate season - these seem quite Autumn to me:


These, perhaps, for Winter:


And these, for Spring?


Do these seem summer-like to you?


Now here's a "test" for you....do you see the difference between the contemporary designs shown above and these two below?


What differences do you see? Notice the red lining that peeks out at the sleeve edge and collar to attract the eye to "the unseen beauty" and, with red, also to suggest something alluring. The patterning is also so subtle - only at the hemline and, on the black one, just a touch on the bottom of the sleeves. Understated and so elegant. These are likely from the 1920's (Taisho Period), long before women were so bold as to wear the brightest of colors and patterns. Notice the crests on these last two but missing from modern versions perhaps because they would not be seen with all the elaborate patterning! Think of a woman your grandmother's age, coming of age, in Japan in the 1920's.....

It's always fascinating to me what creative people
make with vintage kimono fabrics. I have a gallery
of examples on my website
http://www.kyotokimono.com/SewingCrafts/SewingCrafts.htm)
but here's a smattering of the variety...

Scarves from haori lining silks....


Fabric sculptures....


Figurine collages....


Doll clothes...


Some of these crafters are hobbyists, but others will consider commissions if you'd like something made...

If you'd like to try making something for yourself, I sell fabric bundles and even have a Bundle of the Month Club ($25 gets you a pound of assorted fabric each month) on my website:
http://www.kyotokimono.com/WhatsForSale/VarietyPackBundles.html

We also have a store on ebay where we sell just the kimono SLEEVES:
http://stores.ebay.com/kyoto-kimono-fabrics

The traditional fabric binding technique known as shibori in Japan is often called "Japanese tie-dye" - but that's like calling sake "rice wine" -- it's just that we don't have a better word for it. Technically yes, in both cases the fabric is bound, dipped in dye, and the binding is released to reveal a pattern. But there are dozens of Japanese shibori techniques - wrapping around a pole, sewing tiny gatherings, folding and pressing between boards, and many, many more - each creates a different look and feel. The puckering found in tiny kanoko "fawn spots" dotted shibori (which even today associated with the Kyoto region) is beloved and sought out. Dry cleaning is supposed to retain the pucker.

It is a painstaking process to hand tie each little dot, then to dip the fabric, and perhaps release some threads but not others to create a two toned pattern.


Sometime the use of multiple colors is very subtle-


On the left is a gathered and wrapped technque.
On the right, kanoko (tiny dot) technique used overall and to create a floral pattern.


More kanoko....


And finally....since the shibori patterning is so highly regarded, it is imitated often - either printed or, as is done below, by stencil!


There are a lot of books on shibori in the Japanese tradition - I recommend a few in particular on my website: http://www.kyotokimono.com/Books.html

Back to Kyoto for the second time, Kathy Lenard knew what she wanted, and she wanted an ozashiki. Ozashiki is an evening of private audience with and entertainment by a traditional Japanese geisha. Kathy arranged for this evening in advance via the internet and treated the entire group to an experience of a lifetime. Our geisha were actually maiko - apprentice geisha - and their beauty and grace was almost startling. The minutes were filled with a subtle delicacy, an understated importance, a complicated simplicity. It was the highlight of the trip for many of us, as something few tourists are able to arrange, and even fewer can appreciate.

We had a great time - and welcome others to join us each May. Visit www.kyotokimono.com to see photos and details.

On our tour to Kyoto in May 2008, we were happy to have writer Marilyn Millstone among us. As the rest of us renewed our love for Kyoto, Marilyn discovered it for the first time. Being with someone on her first journey to Japan meant nonstop delight in the oooh's and aaah's of every turn. Lest we forget to stop and admire the artistry of the manhole covers, breathe deeply at the fish market, or smile indulgently at the Japlish signs which offer us a "Happy Thank You", Marilyn kept us in the very present moment.

She enjoyed the textile workshops, the temple and the tea...and more....




Marilyn intends to write an article about her experience in Kyoto, and we'll link to it when it is published. In the meantime, check out her latest article in American Style:

http://americanstyle.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=C7AFF906A1F74D05AD60988473624046

One of our Kyoto Trip members this year was Carolyn; and it was her second time to Japan. She first visited me when I lived there in the mid-1990's. Just this year Carolyn became the Southern California Rep for Kyoto Kimono - vending at quilt shows, anime conventions, trunk shows, cultural festivals, and more. http://www.kyotokimono.com/WhoWeAre/CarolynMcBridePage.htm

She has a very spiritual background already, so easily took to the rituals and customs of Japan. No stranger to textiles, she also enjoyed the roketsuzome (wax resist) dying work shop we did (click here to go to the links page on my website - half way down is the workshop website: http://www.kyotokimono.com/links.html ). And she took hundreds of beautiful photos - some of which will be seen on our website in the coming weeks.




It's possible to spend years in Kyoto and never do the same thing twice.